Profile of Renal Nurse with mask onThis year marked the fourth year that our Bureau of Medical Facilities Licensing partnered with stakeholders to provide a day-long educational session for end-stage renal dialysis (ESRD) providers in Arizona. This year we saw an increase in attendees from other states. Approximately 135 participants attended the 2016 ADVICE Collaborative to identify data-driven opportunities to improve dialysis services in Arizona and share best practices in clinical care, infection control, and biomedical services.

Participants heard from ADHS Licensing, our Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Program, and national speakers on a variety of topics including dialysis survey and health outcomes data, the evolving future state of dialysis services, fluid management in ESRD patients, infection control checklist, audit tools and technical assistance, effective water treatment systems and monitoring. The day was capped off by patient advocate, Stephen Johnson who shared his personal story about the importance of dialysis services, the impact of excellent care in a positive patient experience and how health care professionals’ efforts impact the lives of their patients.

Each year’s

ADVICE Collaborative gives us new insight into the challenges faced by Arizona dialysis providers and the best and promising practices these providers implement to provide excellent patient care. In addition to identifying educational topics of importance for future years’ collaborative, provider engagement in ADVICE has led to the formation of ESRD Subcommittee of our HAI Advisory Committee,

which works throughout the year to generate meaningful tools and resources for providers and patients in Arizona. We look forward to next year’s ADVICE Collaborative and continued engagement with the dialysis community. Presentations from this year’s conference will soon be available on our website.